Cowles Mountain Trail to Close For Repairs for Two Months

Well-trod Cowles Mountain, one of the region's most popular hiking trails, will be closed two months for trail restoration and repairs beginning Monday, March 25.

Signs are already posted at the base of the mountain notifying the hundreds of daily trail users of the impending closure.

The trail, a part of Mission Trails Regional Park, will reopen on May 17.

The nearly 1,600-foot-high mountain, named for ranching pioneer George A. Cowles, is the highest point in the city of San Diego. It offers 360-degree panoramic views of San Diego County.

The heavily-used main trail path starts at the intersection of Navajo Road and Golfcrest Drive. It climbs 1.5 miles to the summit with a climb of about 950 feet.

A lesser-known trail on the back side of Cowles begins near the intersection of Boulder Lake Avenue and Barker Way. Both public hiking trails meet near the summit. Another way up the back starts in Santee, the Mesa Road Trail.

Executive Director of Mission Trails Regional Park Foundation, Jay Wilson, told East County Magazine that these alternative trails to Cowles' summit will remain open to the public (Big Rock Trailhead, Big Rock Park Trailhead, Mesa Trailhead, the Barker Way Trail).

Here is a link to the MTRP home page for the latest information about the status of the trail closure, and a link to a map for locating the alternative trailheads for Cowles Mountain.

-City News Service